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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23516551">like no one's watching</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/broikawa/pseuds/broikawa'>broikawa</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Awkward Kissing, Embarrassment, Established Relationship, Kiss Cams, M/M, Percy Weasley Being an Idiot, Percy Weasley-centric, Post-Hogwarts, Public Display of Affection, Quidditch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 13:41:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,111</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23516551</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/broikawa/pseuds/broikawa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>percy weasley isn't the biggest fan of pda</p><p>or ;; percy gets chosen to kiss oliver on a kiss cam at one of his games</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>338</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>like no one's watching</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>do i know anything about sports? no. do i care how quidditch actually works? no. do i care? i wrote this so im sure u can figure out the answer</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Percy didn’t hate watching Quidditch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d grown up with it, for sure, what with his brothers becoming fanatics all at young ages. He’d never hated watching them fly high above the field, throwing around an old set his dad had had since he was a boy. Participating was a different story, of course, as he’d always much preferred to stay inside and read or work on his latest research project, but if someone were to ask him if he liked Quidditch, he would say yes, and this would not be a lie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The same went for his school years. Sharing a dormitory with Oliver Wood, the only person with a bigger love for Quidditch than his brothers (and a person Percy suspected with possibly the biggest love for Quidditch in the entire Wizarding World), it was a given that he’d have to get used to Quidditch. His schedule was easy to memorize when he’d gotten on the team in his second year – early morning practices Mondays and Thursdays, after class practices Tuesdays and Fridays, Wednesdays off, and the occasional meeting closer to games (and especially the Cup) to work out strategy and get them motivated, and sometimes an extra practice sometime in the week. This schedule stayed quite consistent throughout the years, and eventually, Percy himself had gotten used to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would, still, prefer to stay inside and read or do his classwork, but he always went to the games when he could to cheer Oliver on – especially the bigger ones, which he made time for – even if it was just claps and small cheers when Gryffindor would score a point (or win the game, of course). He never went to the after parties in the common room. When he’d return to the tower after a game, he’d push through everyone there, find his way to the staircase, and work or read or sleep up in the dormitory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would always find Oliver after the games, though, when he came out from the change rooms, and especially so in their later school years. Percy was lucky to have found him after the team had won the Cup in their seventh year. The stadium was booming, students and teachers of every house cheering on the team, congratulating them for their victory, and here they were; just the two of them, outside, quiet and happy. Percy could tell he was tired, he could see it in his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did quite well,” he told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oliver smiled. “I did, didn’t I?” He touched his jaw gently – his hands were still sweaty from his gloves but it was the last thing on Percy’s mind. They kissed, softly, and they kissed again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a third kiss, Percy said, “Go on, they’re probably waiting for you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Captain</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His cheeks grew even more flushed at the nickname. “You’re more important right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oliver,” he said, kissing his forehead, “I will see you at the dorm, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He said nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The one we </span>
  <em>
    <span>share</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Remember?” He hoped the message would get through his head so he wouldn’t have to elaborate too much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He understood, standing up straight, a bigger grin coming to his lips. “Percy Weasley,” he said, in a shocked and sarcastic tone, “are you using your position as Head Boy to get away with what I think you’re suggesting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ollie,” he said firmly with a glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” he said, putting his hands up. “Yes. The dorm – </span>
  <em>
    <span>our</span>
  </em>
  <span> dorm. Later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percy kissed him one more time. “Go on, then,” he told him, and Oliver turned, looking back at him a few times as he walked back to find the team.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In his adult life, Percy’s relationship with Quidditch remained the same. His relationship with Oliver had also remained the same, just more ideal, as they had a proper flat together and could love each other in their own space without fear that someone would know and tell them to switch dorms with another student (which Percy </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> covered up using his privileges as Head Boy, obviously, of course not). They lived in London, as that was most beneficial to Percy working at the Ministry (“Head of the Department of Magical Transportation, Oliver,” Percy had exclaimed when he’d received the news on his position, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Head</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”). Puddlemere United was mostly based in Dorset, quite a ways outside of the city, but Oliver didn’t mind the Apparating and assured Percy many, many times that he was all right with doing it as much as he did (“You should know how un-dangerous it is, Mr. Head of the Department of Magical Transportation.” Percy didn’t say anything to his comment).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He still made time to go to his games, of course, when he wasn’t completely swamped with work. Tonight, Puddlemere United was playing against the Hollyhead Harpies. Percy arrived as he always did: as quietly and nonchalantly as possible as to not draw attention to himself. It wasn’t like being Head of a Ministry department brought you all the fame a witch or wizard could ever ask for, but you were in the press more than one would think, so people knew your name and your face and, from time to time, recognized you, which was something he’d rather avoid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The game was quite standard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Harpies were giving them a rough time, but Puddlemere was leading 60-30, and their Seeker, Williams, had nearly caught the Snitch a few times already.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Morgan’s got the Quaffle, she’s racing across the pitch with Griffiths on her tail. She throws and–” everyone pauses, watching the shot, but Oliver catches it. “Blocked again by Wood!” The crowd shouts in excitement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s on fire tonight,” the other commentator said as a whistle blew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As we dive into a break,” the first commentator said, “it’s time for the most romantic part of the night: the Kiss Cam!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percy didn’t hate watching Quidditch, but he hated this part.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> hated this part.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You all know how this works,” said the second commentator, much too enthusiastic to be talking about strangers kissing. “Our cameras are specially designed and charmed to find pairs of wizards and witches that have the best chemistry, displaying them on the Kiss Cam. You know what comes next, of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s see which couples will be found tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percy could go on about the ethics and privacy invasion of the Quidditch Kiss Cam for longer than anyone would be willing to listen (much like how he could about love potions, the blasted things), but he could also go on about his personal preferences about it. He had always been able to leave before they announced it (he learned that they never looked for people in the washrooms, so he’d skip off for a break during every halftime he found himself in). It wasn’t as if he and Oliver weren’t out – they’d made no attempt to keep their relationship a secret, and Oliver refused to let anyone force them to keep it a secret (as the Quidditch scene could get quite intense at times regarding personal information), and his dislike for it really had nothing to do with their relationship at all – but Percy, on the off chance that the Kiss Cam picked them, would much prefer that he and Oliver didn’t kiss with thousands of people watching them expectantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This, unfortunately, turned out to be an off chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first people the Cam picked up was an older couple who had to have been married for at least 40 years, Percy guessed, and the scene was very sweet, causing an “Aww,” from some of the people in the crowd. It was then a younger couple who looked as if this was an early date in their relationship, both nervous and hesitant about the whole thing, but clearly pleased that they’d been picked. Then, naturally, Percy’s fear came true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” said the first announcer, surprised, with excitement in their voice, “It seems the Kiss Cam has picked up Puddlemere’s own Oliver Wood!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percy froze solid standing there, the blood draining from his face. Looking up at the screen, he saw that Oliver had froze, too. He knew what Percy’s feelings about the Kiss Cam were, and they’d briefly discussed the exact situation they’d found themselves in now, though it’d been all hypothetical and talked about as if it were impossible, as if it would never actually happen, that’s crazy, </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t worry about it so much, Perce</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And yet, here they were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He already knew his fate, but he curled his shoulders up anxiously as he watched the camera buzz around like an overactive Snitch looking for him. It did, and the commentators had a case announcing it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And it looks like the lucky person giving Oliver Wood a kiss tonight is–” they paused, perhaps not believing the sight (</span>
  <em>
    <span>Do they not read news columns?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Percy wondered, knowing for a fact he and Oliver had been published more than once), “The Ministry of Magic’s Head of Magical Transportation, Percival Weasley!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s Head of the </span>
  </em>
  <span>Department</span>
  <em>
    <span> of Magical Transportation, thank you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Percy thought offhandedly.</span>
  <em>
    <span> If you’re going to call on me like this</span>
  </em>
  <span>, </span>
  <em>
    <span>at least get my title correct.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>There were more cheers, and he never felt more exposed in his life. He didn’t look anywhere but at Oliver – actually looked at him, and not him on the screen – getting on his broom to fly up to him. Percy stood up from his seat, walking to stand at the railing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Oliver said when they were level with each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Percy said back, absolutely still. His logic that </span>
  <em>
    <span>if he didn’t move, the camera wouldn’t know where he was</span>
  </em>
  <span> wasn’t going as well as he’d hoped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oliver put his hand on the railing near his own, fingers nearly touching. “You okay?” he asked softly, looking at his tight expression, or perhaps his more-pale-than-normal face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely mortified,” he reported, voice stiff. “I don’t think I’m leaving the flat for three months after this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, Perce, it’s a kiss,” he said. “You’ve kissed me before, you know how to do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in front of </span>
  <em>
    <span>thousands of people</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” he shouted in a whisper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do they know it’s ‘Kiss Cam’ and not ‘Conversation Cam’?” one of the commentators asked with a laugh. Percy did not appreciate his humiliation being commented on one bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, love, look at me,” Oliver coerced, and he did as he asked. “Pretend it’s just us, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just us,” Percy repeated with a breath. “Right. Could you hurry up and win this so we can go home?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oliver chucked. “Yes, of course. I’ll relay the message to the team.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They said nothing else, as Percy leaned forward to place a short kiss to his lover’s lips. It was only a second, no more, but it was enough for the camera.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice one, lovebirds!” a commentator said, and Percy’s face became as red as his hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percy shoved Oliver’s shoulder a bit when they pulled away. “I’m serious, Ollie,” he said. “Go win this thing so we can leave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone eager to get home?” he teased, but Percy just shot a look at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m eager to get out of here,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Imagine what your coworkers’ll say when you head in to the office on Monday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He ducked his head down in embarrassment. He could already hear Kingsley knowingly asking him, “You enjoy the game this weekend?” just to bother him. “Merlin, do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> make me think about that,” he said, “now </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Oliver flew away with another smile, back down to where his team was still talking. The game’s break came to an end and the players headed back onto the pitch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And as the teams take their positions once again, the match between Puddlemere United and the Hollyhead Harpies can proceed!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percy felt completely flustered, head to toe, at being put on the spot like he was, and continued to do so even after the game when he’d gone and found Oliver so they could go home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still feel like you need a swig of Draught of Living Death?” Oliver quipped with a smile when he saw him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A bit,” he said quietly. “Perhaps just some water, instead,” he added quickly after.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s just get back to the flat, then,” he suggested, throwing an arm over his shoulder and pulling him close. He’d showered after the game, and Percy could smell the scent of his body wash (</span>
  <em>
    <span>His</span>
  </em>
  <span> body wash, as Oliver liked to take soap that wasn’t his to games. It did give Percy an excuse to use soap that wasn’t his when Oliver wasn’t there, though).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percy didn’t hate watching Quidditch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In fact, he found that he quite enjoyed it.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>imagine being this much of a power couple your faves could never</p><p>tumblr:<br/>etherealparrish (main)<br/>ohmyhoneybun (mlm/lovecore)<br/>historicalsgnificance (dark academia)<br/>adrientheodorepercival (writeblr)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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